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Historic rail subway benefits from £100k revamp

BBC Tim Hedley-Jones smiles while standing in front of subway tiles and a big picture of Stonehenge pointing to where the tour buses areBBC
Tim Hedley-Jones from the Railway Heritage Trust explained how historic the railway station is

A Victorian railway station subway has been revamped in a project costing just over £100,000.

The work on the subway at Salisbury Station, Wiltshire, is part of wider £5.8m worth of work to improve the area around the station.

The subway has not only been cleaned, but also now has pictures showing local places of importance.

Funding came from several sources, including Network Rail, Railway Heritage Trust, South Western Railway (SWR) and the Department for Transport.

The slope into a subway, historic metro-style tiles in white down the side with black railings and large, arched windows before it sinks underground
The subway has been cleaned and improved to make it brighter

Tim Hedley-Jones from the Railway Heritage Trust said it is now "clean, well-looked after, bright, airy and beautiful".

"It's a massive station, but it's also a very old station, it's listed and there's also an original Brunel terminus here," he added.

Some of the older subway tiles, which date back to 1859, have been freshly scrubbed.

There are also contrasting black railings down the side which are aimed at helping those with impaired vision using the station.

The front of Salisbury Railway Station with a Victorian-style red brick entrance and passengers and a white taxi visible
The project to improve Salisbury's listed railway station is costing £3.5m in total

The artwork and photographs on the wall show off the heritage in the city and things to do, including nearby Stonehenge, as the station is a regular point for tourists to use to get there.

English Heritage became involved when Jane Thomas, a marketing manager with the charity, noticed visitors coming off a train looking "completely lost".

"I was worried that they didn't know they'd got off at the right station for Stonehenge because there was no indication, but also how did they then find their way to the monument?" she said.

Subway tiled wall with large landscape photograph of Salisbury Cathedral telling people how to get there
New pictures in the subway show places to see in the city

Andrew Ardley from SWR explained that the only bit of work left for the subway is some drainage work.

He said: "Our staff love it. They come through this subway from the train depot. They use it all the time and it makes our female staff feel a bit safer."

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